In the year 1933, in the vicinity of our shop, Mr. Kamali had a newspaper agency. The newspapers came from Tehran, ten copies of Ettela’at, five copies of Iran, and roughly the same number of Journal de Téhéran, which was published in French. At that time, the common foreign language in Iran was French, and English was less commonly read. Kayhan newspaper had not yet been published; it came after 1941.
When the newspapers arrived, I would take some of them for sale, although people didn’t buy them. There was no one except a few foreigners in the sugar factory and the chemical factory located behind the school; they would buy a copy of Journal de Téhéran. The usual procedure was that I would read the prominent news loudly in the street and also mention the price. The newspaper was only one qiran (Iranian currency) at the time. In total, I might sell one or two copies of Iran and five or six copies of Ettela’at. Ettela’at newspaper was very important at that time, and most people read it. It belonged to a person from Ardabil. In short, when I finished my work, I would read the leftover newspapers myself. There was a river nearby and a willow tree. I would go under the willow tree, sit down, and read the newspaper. I had a great interest in reading and acquiring knowledge.
From that year on, I became engrossed in newspapers and reading. It had a significant impact on my familiarity with international issues and the development of my intellectual background. I always read newspapers, whether in the village, Karaj, or Tehran. However, during military service, reading newspapers was prohibited because anything that caused people to gather and unite was forbidden.